ADHD is something that you have probably heard a lot about. A quick Google search will bring up tons of articles that mention ADHD. This is a neurobehavioral disorder that has become rather well recognized by doctors, educators, and the general public. As such, you may have heard a lot of information, and a lot of misinformation about it. How can you tell if your child might have ADHD?
There are some signs that could indicate that your child may have ADHD. However, since many of these symptoms are something that a child who does not have ADHD may experience from time to time, you cannot necessarily conclude that one or two examples of a certain symptom automatically mean that your child does, in fact, have ADHD.
Another thing to keep in mind is that it is developmentally normal for very young children to display many of the behaviors, symptoms, and signs that could indicate that an older child has ADHD. In other words, if your preschooler cannot sit still, and tends to throw tantrums, this is age appropriate, and not necessarily an indication that your child has ADHD. However, if your ten year old frequently has the same problems that one would typically expect from a three year old, this could be a sign that your child may have a special need.
Here are ten signs that may indicate that your child has ADHD. If your child exhibits one or two of these symptoms, and only occasionally, then it is less likely that your child has ADHD. However, if you’ve noticed your child doing many of these signs frequently, it might indicate that he or she has ADHD. If so, then it’s time to investigate further, and perhaps talk to your child’s teacher, or with your family physician.
Is your child really forgetful? He frequently forgets his lunch, or his backpack, or his homework. After struggling to complete his homework, he doesn’t remember to turn it in. He loses track where he puts things like pencils, assignment notebooks, or even toys on a near daily basis. This could be a sign that your child has ADHD.
She has trouble staying on task at school so often that her teacher has commented to you about it. Her teacher also notes that your child appears to be daydreaming while lessons are going on, or working on something other than the currently assigned task.
Although he starts working on tasks at home, he just cannot seem to complete them. His room gets partially cleaned, until he gets distracted by something more interesting that he found while cleaning up. It takes hours longer than it should to complete these kinds of tasks, and that is with constant prodding and redirecting from you. The same struggle happens when he tries to finish his homework every day after school.
She is overly impulsive. She cannot wait in line, and may cut the line, or get incredibly impatient and upset while waiting. She frequently interrupts other people when they are speaking, and her comments aren’t always connected to the topic being discussed. She takes action before thinking about the consequences of that action, and without giving thought to previously discussed plans.
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